Real Estate in Northern St. Johns Florida

How Much is My Home Worth?by George L. Ballou, ll , Broker Associate,Watson Realty Corp.March 2015

George Ballou & Lisa Menton, Realtors with Watson

We all know as homeowners how we begin trying to figure out what our home is worth. First we look around our neighborhood and see what has sold recently and convince ourselves one way or the other how our home compares to that house. Doesn’t matter to us that we have never been in that house. Often with all of the new technology available we then go to one of the websites that is known for giving house estimates and compare that to what we think our house is worth. Doesn’t matter to us that some of those websites are notoriously wrong on their estimates most of the time. If it comes in high the estimate is as good as gold and if it is too low…well who pays attention to that website anyway! Next we compare all of that to what we paid for our home and add in every single thing we ever spent on the place and come up with that value. Custom paint jobs and extra carpet padding has got to be worth something, right? Finally the last and best rationalizer of all is what do we have to get for our house so we can buy what we want somewhere else. After doing this analysis we pick the highest number!

Next we go looking for a Realtor who will tell us what we want to hear….that our house is worth even more than we thought. We don’t care if that Realtor doesn’t work our area, never sold anything in our neighborhood or works for a company we haven’t heard of because we are floating on cloud nine that he told us our house is worth a big number. Obviously, what I have written so far was meant to get a chuckle out of you. Most of us are guilty of using one or more of these fatally flawed pricing scenarios at some time in our home selling experience!

When I list a house I often tell my sellers that what they paid, what they owe on the house or what they need to get for it are irrelevant. It only matters what the market value of their property is at this time. This is often a harsh reality for many sellers who are under pressure or eager to buy or build their next home. There is an old real estate saying that goes “A house that is overpriced really isn’t for sale”. If you price your house to high it may now be outside the search parameters of someone who would have been the perfect buyer for your place. The strategy of leaving extra wiggle room in your price for negotiation is like trying to figure out how much poison you can drink before it will kill you!

Fortunately there are many qualified and professional Realtors in your area who can bring to you a much more objective approach to valuing your home. Knowledge of how to use MLS data, county records and years of sales experience now come into play. A good Realtor will have no hesitation to call a peer and ask them their thoughts when they are working on your pricing. In addition to the statistical approach which may use per square foot comparisons, size, bedrooms and options, the subjective issues are equally important. Things like home and yard condition, floor plan desirability, schools, lot size and placement, including location on a street such as cul de sac, corner lot, preserve versus water view or looking at your neighbor behind you can all be game changers.

Coming to a pricing range and then a listing price isn’t as easy as it looks but Realtors do this every day. Helping you move in your mind from the emotional “this is our home” to “this is an investment we are now prepared to sell” is part of our job. Realtors bring a perspective of where you really are that homeowners sometimes lose sight of. Call your local Realtor when you are ready to make a move and don’t be afraid to ask questions. The best working relationship for everyone is when we are all on the same page and we all know how we got there.

What Lies Aheadby Chris Shee of Master Craft

As residents, we all know the wonderful lifestyle St. Johns County allows from the ocean, Intracoastal, and St. Johns River, to the oldest city in the nation, to the best schools in the state. It’s why we love living here. Well, as with all great things, it’s hard to keep them a secret for long. Thanks to the well-planned growth our community has experienced over the past two decades as well as the great demand from others wanting to live here, our community now has the “mass” to attract better roadways and services. Surely everyone has seen the massive clearing along 95 just north of the Race Track Road overpass. You’re looking at the new extension of 9B that picks up at Phillips Highway and will connect into St. Johns Parkway (2209). Race Track Road will later be redirected through the Gate property so that it can align with Nocatee Parkway and also have access to the 9B extension I just mentioned. The Gate property just mentioned is the land that sits at the southwest intersection of Race Track Road and I-95. This is the property that created a lot of press when Bass Pro said they are evaluating it is as a potential new site. It’s also the land that will, in the very near future, be the commercial and retail hub for us residents. The area is envisioned to have several larger stores like Target, Home Depot or Lowe’s, and hopefully Bass Pro Shops, a movie theatre, several larger chain restaurants, etc. It will be where most of us do the majority of our shopping, dining. Having these brand new services in our “back yard” will allow for great convenience and will most likely add to the overall real estate values for the area. So, picture this. You’re driving home on 95 South and exit onto the new 9B / 2209 extension. You’ll then cross over the old Race Track Road and exit on to the new Race Track Road where you can grab a few odd and ends or a bite to eat. Then jump back on Race Track or take 2209 down to 210. Pretty exciting.There’s so much more to discuss, too! We’re about to see new highly-amenitized and master-planned communities like Shearwater and Silverleaf break ground—both of which will add great connections to other parts of the county. They’ll also connect to the outer beltway that’s slated to be constructed in between 210 and International Golf Parkway.While St. Johns County has certainly seen what seems to be an enormous amount of growth, especially over the past two decades I don’t think it comes close to the growth we will see over the next two. Thankfully, we live in a well-managed municipality that focuses on supporting smarter growth and providing better services for its residents. We also have very active civic organizations that help guide this growth. I have no doubt in my mind that the majority of the growth we see will be well thought out, planned, and executed and I’m truly excited about what lies ahead.

When is The Best Time to List My House?by George Ballou II of Watson Realty

When it comes to selling our home most of us make our decisions based upon a plan that starts with where we are going and when do we want to get there. Whether we are being required to move for a new job, moving closer to family or hoping to live some place with nicer weather our planning and objectives are usually very similar. We want to sell for the best price in the least amount of time. It would be wonderful if going with the statistical “best times” to sell worked for everyone but usually our personal agenda drives our decision….as it should.Home owners thinking of selling their home eventually ask themselves and their agent when is the best time for me to list my home. That is a simple question but there are many possible answers depending upon your specific goals and circumstances. Traditionally most of us have been trained to believe that March is the universal time to get your house listed. Historically our thinking is that we will list in Spring and hope to have it closed right after the kids are out of school in June. We will then buy a place in the summer and be all moved in before school starts at the end of August. These market “truisms” end up effecting all of us. You may say you don’t have children at home any longer so what do you care? However we are all part of the overall market and a large segment of the home buying population is operating on these very time frames so their timing needs do end up impacting you.Statistics would indicate that March-April-May are indeed the peak listing months of the year and a gradual decline in new listings occurs each month thereafter with December being the least active listing month of the year. An interesting relationship however of list price to eventual sale price indicates that homes sold in September thru December sell closer to list price than the more active listing months of March-April-May. Fewer listings during the September–December months means less competition for the average Seller. Conversely if you are going to list your house during the most active listing times of the market you are also going to have the highest number of other Sellers in the market competing for the same Buyers. A common reaction to competition is to lower your price to be more appealing to Buyers. This is where the list price to sale price relationship begins to unfold. The Spring market often becomes a Buyer’s market because of high inventory levels and the Fall is usually a more balanced or even a Seller’s market because of lower inventory levels.In real estate sales the big three variables are Location, Price and Condition. Although timing is important it is not one of those variables. The primary thing that can be said concerning timing is that you know what kind of a market you are in now but you don’t know what kind of a market you will be in if you wait. Generally speaking, excluding areas where weather is a significant factor in when things get sold, it has been my experience that a properly priced and marketed home will sell at an acceptable price and in a satisfactory time frame no matter what time of the year you list your property.

Try contacting your local Realtor to assist you in devising a marketing plan that is unique to your property, circumstances and

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